2007 – Miguel Mojarra Guinovart (Florida)

Miguel Guinovart aka Mojarra is a spearfishing legend in Florida. His history in this sport began as a child in Cuba when he would use spearfishing to feed his family of nine and make a living despite the obstacles of living in a communist county. In 1992, during Hurricane Andrew, Miguel risked his life on a raft with the vision of living in a free country. He was on the water during the storm for three days and ended up being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. He was subsequently given political asylum to stay in the United States. One year later he entered his first spearfishing competition where she shattered the competition. That was the beginning of his winning streak.

For Miguel, it was never about being the best. It was just about doing what he loves. He humbly dominated Florida State Spearfishing Competitions for 19 years. He was the Florida Skindiving Champion on 7 different occasions. He went to 12 National competitions and came in Second Place four times. He has qualified to represent the USA Spearfishing team in 2 World competitions. He attended 1 World competition and 1 Panamerican competition.

Seeing Mojarra in the water is a sight to behold. When he is in the water it is obvious that he is doing exactly what he was put on Earth to do. His skills as a hunter can only be learned through the amount of experience he has. He has incredible endurance and is out there almost every day spearing fish commercially and putting food on the table for his family.
One of his best spearfishing stories was when Miguel was diving off of a sunken ship in 140 feet. Here he speared a 96 pound amberjack. While the fish put up a massive fight, he was no match for Mojarra.
One of the best competitions was the 1996 national spearfishing competition in Hawaii. For Miguel, being able to travel the world through spearfishing was something he never dreamed he’d be able to do. He also did very well in Hawaii making it to second place.

After so many years of winning competitions he doesn’t have room for any more trophies in his house, so he has focused on teaching what he knows to his family.

Miguel has three children. His oldest son, Michel, is a photographer in New York City. Then he has a set of twins, a boy and a girl. They are 23 years old. His daughter Cathy works for Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only underwater laboratory, as an Education Coordinator. His son Renzo takes after his dad and works as a spear fisherman with him in addition to being a collector. Miguel’s wife, Natacha, is a preschool teacher in Key Largo. Miguel’s love for spearfishing has always come from his desire to provide for the most important people in his life, his family